Best PlacesBlack, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Black, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Black ranks 21,049th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Black
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Black's strengths and weaknesses
Where Black ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 89% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of towns
- Cheap childcare$557 a month, better than 86% of towns
Where Black ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 17% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 17% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Black
A household needs to earn about $19,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Black home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,978, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Black's effective rate of 0.26%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Black
Black's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Black.
Who works in Black, and how
Work in Black centers on manufacturing and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Black
Black has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Black and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Black, month by month
Black sees roughly 117 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 51° | 42° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 56° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 74° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Black
The nearest airport, Dothan Regional, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 196 miles away.
The best schools in and around Black
Schools across Black average a C+, better than 47% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Headland Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Geneva County Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Headland Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Geneva Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Geneva County Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Geneva High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Headland High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Geneva County High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Black school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Black measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Black against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Black
Is Black a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Black ranks 21,049th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low property taxes, and fast internet, and lowest on air quality and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Black expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $80,138. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $77,978 median income, cost of living beats 73% of towns.
Is Black safe?
Yes, Black is safer than 55% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $265 per resident a year.
Compare Black with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Black. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Black represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Black detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Black: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Black: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Black: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Black: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Black detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.